Wellness Workshop: Top Tips to Declutter Your Life

Article | Bethany Cooper, Health Sciences/Medical Writer & Emergency Nurse

Decluttering is seen as a chore to be avoided. However, during the lockdowns over the past couple of years, some people had no choice but to stay at home and a light was shone on their living spaces, ushering in a new era of organisation.

Marie Kondo, The Home Edit, and even Khloe Kardashian’s pantry have given a popularity to organisation that we haven’t seen before, and people all over the world are taking to rearranging their cupboards – and their lives.

As life gets back to normal and people return to their busy schedules, taking practical steps to coordinate your home and your mind is all the more important. So, what is it about this new trend of decluttering and prioritising that benefits your life and your mind? As well as sharing some practical tips for co-ordinating your environment and your life, I’ll discuss the biology behind these steps and explain why they benefit your overall wellbeing.

Your Environment

We’ve all heard the phrase ‘tidy house, tidy mind’, but what does it really mean? There is a clear correlation between our mental state and cleanliness, with numerous research studies concluding that cleanliness and order produce very positive effects on our overall health and wellbeing. [1]

In one study, [2] participants who had higher ‘stressful home’ scores (indicative of clutter and disorganisation) had a significantly higher risk of depression, with higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol clearly identified. And according to another study, [3] the stress hormone triggered by clutter can negatively impact healthy behaviours, resulting in coping mechanisms such as oversleeping and binge-eating.

A person’s physical work environment has a direct impact on their performance and overall wellbeing; it has a significant influence on an individual’s cognition, emotions and subsequent behaviours, including their relationships with others. [4]

Our environment undeniably affects our mood and capability of completing tasks – so with many people’s work environment now extending to their homes, getting that environment in order has never been more important.

So, how can we do this?

Decluttering

One of the most obvious causes of an unhealthy environment is clutter. When things feel out of order, it can leave us feeling absent-minded, forgetful and unable to concentrate. Clutter hinders the brain’s ability to process information, which makes any task requiring focus more difficult than it needs to be.

The task of decluttering can at first seem completely overwhelming, especially if years of accumulation have led to a complete disengagement with your belongings.

But decluttering is done best one step at a time, one foot in front of the other, and making a start is the biggest hurdle.

Try these steps for getting started:

1. Take each room, or even each drawer, one at a time.

2. Go through all your things in that place, and figure out what you genuinely need and use. We all have cupboards so full that what’s at the back is anyone’s guess: is the soup-maker you bought in 2004 simply dying to be used, but you just can’t access it?

3. Make piles of things to keep, throw away or donate, and then reorganise each area.

Taking the time to declutter your house in this way not only means you have more space, and therefore more access to the things you really need, but also has a huge impact on your mental wellbeing – in more ways than one.

Organisational Systems

Be it your closet, your kitchen or your craft cupboard, putting effective organisational systems in place throughout your home will save you hours of frustration searching for items. Following systems for arranging your things will keep life running smoothly and reduce stress, becoming a part of your way of life.

• For example, try organising your kitchen drawers in a systematic way so they’re no longer awash with random items that you have to dig through to find what you need; instead, you’ll have dedicated spaces for cutlery, pots, pans, children’s items and appliances, so you know exactly where to go when you need something.

• This can be extended across your home: create a dedicated space for shoes rather than leaving them wherever they are taken off, or section your closet by item or season. You could dedicate space for important paperwork, office supplies, seasonal décor… whatever works for you and your family.

Although it may sound extreme to streamline your house in such a way, once you get going, I can guarantee it will save you so much time and chaos that you won’t be able to stop.

Your Life

Can these ‘systems’ be extended to your life, as busy professional schedules and chaotic family life collide? The answer is yes, by developing good habits and routines.

Implementing daily routines and life systems has been linked to the development of social skills and academic success, [5] and adhering to them has a significant impact on family resilience during times of crisis. [6]

Routines are highly individualised, but if you give them enough priority, they can limit procrastination, ensure you stay on track towards personal goals, and even allow you to make healthier life choices.

Meal Planning

Imagine: after a busy day of work, you come home to cook a meal for yourself and your family. The meat hasn’t been defrosted, you don’t have all the ingredients you need, and your body is aching from a day on your feet… so you order a takeaway.

Not only does this lack of planning lead to unhealthy dietary habits, but it’s also expensive.

By planning your meals in advance, you can irradicate the need to think about what to cook each evening and stick to healthier options. By stocking up on the items you need for each day ahead of time, you can avoid that last-minute dash to your local supermarket.

Scheduling

Missed appointments, cancelled meetings, impromptu journeys. The importance of taking the time to schedule your life is vital, in my opinion. As a busy professional, a mum and a wife, I would not be able to remember everything required of me if it was not in my personal calendar; be it a work deadline or my daughter’s dance class.

Effective scheduling can be extremely beneficial for family life, whether you use a shared calendar via an app or a paper calendar on the wall. This habit has been a life-saver for me in terms of both time and my relationship. Having a shared calendar means we both know exactly what’s happening and when, we don’t get ‘double booked’ and there are no miscommunications.

The simple habit of using a shared calendar makes co-ordinating appointments and events with your family a breeze, because you know exactly who is doing what and when. It also promotes a healthier work-life balance by encouraging you to set boundaries and prioritise time with family and friends.

Life Admin

Life admin is potentially one of the most undesirable aspects of becoming an adult, but unfortunately it is also necessary. Life admin is all the office-type work it takes to run a life and a household, be that personal banking or paying bills, scheduling appointments or responding to personal emails. Sometimes these things build up and become an overwhelming source of anxiety, especially when finances are involved.

Developing a good system to control this is extremely important. This could include automating payments, and setting aside some time each week or month to assess what tasks need doing.

I find it extremely useful to make lists; when your mind is awash with things to remember, simply writing them down can be an effective aid. I do this with every aspect of my life so I know exactly what needs to be done and when. As well as ensuring nothing is forgotten, ticking each item off as it is completed cultivates a feeling of productivity and achievement.

This article has covered but a few ways in which we can organise and streamline our lives – saving time, frustration and unnecessary stress, while promoting positive and healthy behaviours. Organisation used to be a chore for me, but now I enjoy implementing these systems in my life, because I have seen first-hand the benefits for my wellbeing and that of my family.

I hope that these tips will improve your wellbeing too, and that you will find new ways of doing things that work for you and your family

Bethany Cooper

Health Sciences/Medical Writer & Emergency Nurse

Bethany completed a Master’s Degree in Trauma Science in 2019, research from which has recently been accepted for publication in a medical journal.

Over the past year Bethany has been working as a health sciences and medical writer. She is passionate about health and encouraging health literacy and patient engagement.

1. Roster CA, Ferrari J, Jurkat P. The Dark Side of Home: Assessing Possession ‘Clutter’ on Subjective Well-being. J Environ Psychol 2016; 46:32–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2016.03.003.

2. Saxbe DE, Repetti R. No Place Like Home: Home Tours Correlate With Daily Patterns of Mood and Cortisol. Pers Soc Psychol B 2010; 36(1):71–81. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167209352864

3. Vartanian L, Kernan K, Wansink B. Clutter, Chaos, and Overconsumption: The Role of Mind-Set in Stressful and Chaotic Food Environments. Environ Behav 2016. Online First: http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2711870

4. Sander EJ, Caza A, Jordan PJ. Psychological Perceptions Matter: Developing the Reactions to the Physical Work Environment Scale. Build Environ 2019; 148:338–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2018.11.020.

5. Spagnola M, Fiese BH. Family Routines and Rituals: A Context for Development in the Lives of Young Children. Infant Young Child 2007; 20:284–99. doi:10.1097/01.IYC.0000290352.32170.5a

6. Black K, Lobo M. A Conceptual Review of Family Resilience Factors. J Fam Nurs 2008; 14:33–55. https://doi.org/10.1177/1074840707312237